BREEDING FOR PRODUCTION...EGGS AND OR MEAT.

[varidgerunner]

People use silkies as a benchmark for broodiness. In my experience they fall far short. They are too small to cover enough large eggs. Their feathers don't allow them to handle the weather all that great. They have no predator resistance whatsoever. Can't catch rodents and small snakes and bash them against rocks to feed their chicks. They can barely see well enough to find the feed trough, let alone count all of their chicks. If you get the hatchery ones, there is no guarantee they will even go broody.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I am not getting hatchery ones I want to have sop and breeder quality ones so I can show them and breed them to sell to people who want to do the same thing with them I like e white ones and the splash ones I will give them a pony tai, so they can see better and I will have them more than likely in a run most off the time and when they are out free ranging I am going to watch them so a hawk don't get them

 

[varidgerunner]

The thing I always hated about silkies is the fact that they don't ever want to fly up on a roost. I don't really care if a silkie wants to get plastered with poop from roosting under the roost. But when her roosting age chicks are getting plastered with poop because their mama calls them down off the roost every time they try to be a sensible chicken, that is just unacceptable.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

Give them a bath and they will be good but have u tryed giving them a ramp or set her on the roost

 

[varidgerunner]

I sold my last silkies at a swap to an old oriental lady. Doubt if she was going to make a ramp for them. I prefer chickens without debilitating genetic mutations.

 

[Chicken Egg 17]

I am not going to keep them with my other birds I just started the build of my breeding pen a few days ago

 

[DesertChic]

Well, that's disappointing. What music would you recommend I play in the coop to set the mood for broodiness? Maybe a therapist?

Gotta go with Barry White.

 

[DesertChic]

My broody White Rock finally took to the nesting box (and fake egg) I made up for her in the isolation pen, so I placed 3 Bielefelder eggs, 1 NN egg and 1 White Rock egg under her. I was originally only going to give her Biel eggs to sit on since I seem to have problems hatching them in the incubator, but I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to put one of my favorite NN hen's eggs under her, along with a possibly NN fertilized White Rock egg. She pecked at me at first, but once she realized I was GIVING her eggs, not taking them away, she calmed tremendously and went into her zone...pupils dilated, head low and body flattened out. So....21 days to wait and see what happens, more or less.

 

[varidgerunner]

I have a bunch of feral broody hens that keep turning up. (A phenomenon common to possessors of true broody stock.) They have a nest on top of a dog pen. I keep leaving the eggs there for bait. I let them get good and broody and catch them off of there at night. I have several clutches set now in individual pens. I'm thinking of giving one some turkey eggs. That should be entertaining.

 

[gevshiba]

Gotta go with Barry White.

That part isn't the problem. How about "The Wiggles"? (Hope I got that right. I don't have kids.)